The North Dakota House adopted the conference committee report on House Bill 10-15, the appropriation bill for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and passed the bill with its emergency clause.

Representative Vegathoff, presenting the conference report, said the committee added $1,000,000 to guardianship grants administered by OMB to help counties recruit guardians. The package also reduces base operations funding for Prairie Public (no ongoing base funding was restored) but provides $400,000 for infrastructure (receivers/transmitters) and reduces a state facility maintenance fund by $6,000,000 (from $40,000,000 to $34,000,000). Representative Vegathoff said the conference committee moved the state hospital construction project from the Department of Human Services to OMB because OMB manages state facilities and had engaged a construction manager; the committee adopted a $300,000,000 project total, with $200,000,000 from the State Investment Fund and a $100,000,000 line of credit.

Vegathoff also described a recently resolved lawsuit related to expenses incurred during the DAPL protests. The conference committee inserted a section providing that when the state receives approximately $28,000,000 in settlement funds, the state may pay off the related loan immediately to avoid further interest and deposit the remainder into the general fund. He noted the committee sought an emergency clause so the payment could be made promptly upon receipt of funds.

Representative Vegathoff described an estimated need of roughly $300,000,000 across agencies to cover salary shortfalls from the new and vacant FTE pool reductions and urged the emergency clause to allow timely payment. The bill also includes $545,000 for the Uniform Law Commission and adjusts a prior transfer amount to counties from approximately $250,000,000 to $235,800,000.

On final consideration the clerk recorded the vote: 76 yeas and 9 nays. House Bill 10-15 was declared passed and the emergency clause carries.

The conference report also establishes a steering committee for the state hospital project composed of members of the House and Senate and agency stakeholders (DHS, OMB) to oversee construction.